An Update on Sirleys, Care2 Sponsored Child

At Care2, our members do simple actions that can make a big difference. From starting online petitions to show support for marriage equality, signing petitions to promote banning toxic lead bullets or visiting Care2 Click to Donate pages where clicks of a mouse can turn into real donations to non-profit organizations – simple actions by many can drive real change. The Click to Donate clicks pay for child sponsorships for 16 children through Children International, including Sirleys from Columbia. Your daily clicks have helped to provide Sirleys new clothing, shoes, healthcare and educational support since February, 2004.

Update from Sirleys

Dear Sponsors,

Cordial greetings to you and your family. I hope you are well in health. I tahnk God for ahving a sponsor like you. Thank you for the gifts you give to me every year. Let me tell you that I live with my family and I am happy to have them. I like listening to music and I like to talk with my mom about a lot of things I don’t know. I have a pet named Bruno. I also like to play and have fun for a while. I have three sisters God gave me and they are Marley, Yurley and Dianis.

With no more to say,

Goodbye,

Sirleys

Update from Children International

Age / Health

Sirleys turned 17 years old on her last birthday, which was in April. The last time she was measured and weighed, she had grown to 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighed 139 pounds.

School / Activities

Sirleys attends school. According to Sirleys, her favorite subject is art.

Like other Colombian children her age, Sirleys loves to spend her free time engaged in activities like listening to music. She counts singing and drawing omong her talents or hobbies.

Home Life

Sirleys lives with her parents in a community where most families survive on incomes that average around $146 a month. Frankly, because the unemployment rate is so high, many parents struggle to find a steady job. When they do find consistent work, most adults are street vendors, maids and brick layers. Sirley’s father, Juan, is a street vendor. Her mother, Isabel, is a homemaker. While the household income varies depending on the availability of work, they usually average about $265 a month.

The family lives in a house, which is constructed of concrete walls, concrete flooring and a corrugated metal roof. It has a living room, a kitchen and two bedrooms. Sirleys sleeps on a wooden bed. Cooking facilities consist of a gas stove. While a dangerous practice, families in the area typically tap into electrical lines to light their homes, and the sanitary facility is a toilet. The family is fortunate to have running water.

Making sure their children receive adequate health care is among the many challenges facing families living in the poorest areas of Cartagena. Parents already find it very hard to provide everyday essentials for their children so medicines, vaccines and treatments are often beyond their means.

Families living in Cartagena’s poorest communities struggle to rise above their circumstances. Parents have a difficult time stretching their meager incomes to support their children and provide for their basic needs, like food and medical care. Daily exposure to gangs, violence and crime are common for children. We encourage them to participate in activities that teach teamwork and leadership skills in an effort to promote positive behavior and contribute to the family’s future and end the cycle of poverty.

Thankfully, sponsorship is helping Sirleys by monitoring her health and providing her with the essentials she desperately needs, such as:

New clothing and shoes

Basic health care and medicine

Educational support, like school supplies

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A big thank you to the Care2 members that have been clicking daily and providing children like Sirleys the support they need.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

about Marya G.

Marya is the V.P. of Product Management and is responsible for Care2's product and marketing strategy and execution.
Marya is an advocate of animal rescue and has two adopted pets, including Buddy, a Taiwanese rescue dog, and Klunk, an abandoned cat. less

Marya is the V.P. of Product Management and is responsible for Care2's product and marketing strategy and execution.
Marya is an advocate of animal rescue and has two adopted pets, including Buddy,... more